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65 students feared buried under rubble as Islamic school building collapses in Indonesia
One student died and dozens were injured in the building collapse of the school, located in Indonesia's main island of Java.
At least 65 students were presumed to be buried under rubble after the under-construction building of an Islamic school in Indonesia collapsed. the Associated Press reported.
One student died and dozens were injured in the building collapse of the school, located in Indonesia's main island of Java, AFP quoted a police official as saying.
The multi-storeyed building of the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in the town of Sidoarjo collapsed when more than 100 students had assembled for afternoon prayers, state news agency Antara reported citing a witness.
Following the incident, more than 79 students were evacuated by rescuers, AFP quoted East Java police spokesman Jules Abraham Abast as saying.
The spokesman said that one victim had died, while citing information from the hospital. However, Jules did not disclose further details, saying the authorities were trying to determine how many victims were at the spot of the incident, according to AFP.
Jules said that the police was “actively communicating with relevant parties”, including the school authorities, to establish the exact number of victims “who are still or may still be trapped in the rubble.”
The school, which was under construction, already had three floors. “The plan was to have four floors with a flat roof,” Abdus Salam Mujib, one of the heads of the school, said.
He said that the building had collapsed after workers poured concrete for the third floor. Mujib added that while the upper levels of the school was being used for classrooms and student activities, the lower floor was the prayer room.
The incident, which comes days a building which was holding a prayer recital collapsed in West Java, has raised concerns about the safety of buildings and construction standards in Indonesia, according to the AFP report. Three people were killed and dozens injured in the collapse.
